German Classes: Articles

Classroom - German, Learn German / By Vaikundamoni

German Articles

Introduction

German has three words — der, die and das — for the definite article the. To make matters more confusing for someone learning German, these three definite articles change spelling according to the case of the noun that they appear with in a sentence. The same is true for the indefinite articles. Just as English has two indefinite articles — a and an — that you use with singular nouns, German also has two indefinite articles (in the nominative case): ein for masculine- and neuter-gender words and eine for feminine-gender words. Another similarity with English is that the German indefinite article ein/einedoesn’t have a plural form. Depending on how you’re describing something plural, you may or may not need to use the plural definite article. Consider the following generalized statement, which requires no article: In Zermatt sind Autos verboten. (Cars are forbidden in Zermatt [Switzerland].) The following table shows you the definite articles and the corresponding indefinite articles (nominative case):

Gender/Number	Definite (the)	Indefinite (a/an)
Masculine	der	ein
Feminine	die	eine
Neuter	das	ein
Plural	die	(no plural form)

In German language, there are three definite articles for nouns in singular: der for masculine nouns, die for feminine nouns and das neutral nouns. German native speakers know mostly intuitively what the article of each noun is. However, non-native speakers need to memorize the articles. There are several rules and guidelines determining the articles of some categories of nouns. But beware exceptions.

Rules for Article ‘Der’
The following nouns have the article der:
- Nouns for masculine persons and functions/professions: Vater, Pilot, Arzt;
- Names of seasons: Frühling, Sommer, Herbst, Winter;
- Names of months: Januar, Juli, Dezember;
- Names of days of the week: Montag, Dienstag, Sonntag;
- Names of compass directions: Nordwest(en), Süd(en);
- Names of precipitations: Regen, Schnee, Hagel;
- Names of car brands: Audi, BMW, Mercedes;
- Names of trains: IC;
- Nouns derived from verbs without suffix: Gang, Fang;
The following categories of nouns have mainly the article der:
- Names of alcoholic beverages: Cognac, Wein, Whiskey; exceptions: das Bier;
- Names of rivers outside Europe: Amazonas, Mississippi;
- Names of mountains: Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro; exception: die Zugspitze;
Furthermore, nouns with the suffixes below have the article der:
- –er (nouns derived from verbs): Fahrer, Lehrer;
- –ismus: Kapitalismus, Journalismus;
Most of nouns with the following suffixes have the article der:
- –ant: Demonstrant, Elefant; exceptions: das Croissant, das Restaurant;
- –ling: Lehrling, Schützling; exceptions: das Dribbling, das Bowling;
- –ner: Rentner, Schaffner, Zöllner; exceptions: das Banner, die Wiener (Wurst);
- –or: Motor, Traktor; exceptions: das Gegentor, das Chlor;
Beware: this is applicable only to nouns in singular. All nouns in plural have the article die.

Beware: diminutives have always the article das: der Kopf → das Köpfchen.
Rules for Article ‘Die’
The following nouns have the article die:
- Nouns for feminine persons and functions/professions: Mutter, Friseuse, Ärztin;
- Names of motorcycle brands: Harley Davidson, BMW (only motorcycle), Yamaha;
- Names of planes and ships: Boeing 747, Titanic;
- Cardinal numbers: Eins, Drei;
The following categories of nouns have mainly the article die:
- Names of plants and trees: Birke, Chrysantheme, Rose; exceptions: der Ahorn, das Veilchen;
Furthermore, nouns with the suffixes below have the article die:
- –falt: Vielfalt;
- –heit: Freiheit, Sicherheit;
- –keit: Möglichkeit, Schnelligkeit;
- –schaft: Freundschaft, Mannschaft;
- –t (nouns derived from verbs): Fahrt, Tat;
- –ung: Leitung, Zeitung;
Foreign nouns with the suffixes below have the article die:
- –ade: Hitparade, Marmelade;
- –age: Garage, Passage;
- –anz: Eleganz, Dominanz;
- –enz: Existenz, Tendenz;
- –ik: Kritik, Musik;
- –ion: Diskussion, Koalition;
- –tät: Identität, Qualität;
- –ur: Agentur, Reparatur;
Most of nouns with the following suffixes have the article die:
- –e: Grenze, Lampe; exceptions: der Junge, der Friede;
- –ei: Abtei, Metzgerei; exceptions: das Ei, der Papagei;
- –ie: Diplomatie, Psychologie; exceptions: der Junkie, der Hippie;
- –in: Ärztin, Studentin; exceptions: das Benzin, der Harlekin;
Beware: diminutives have always the article das: die Hand → das Händchen.
Rules for Article ‘Das’
The following nouns have the article das:
- Diminutives (–chen, –lein): Kaninchen, Fräulein;
- Nouns derived from infinitives: Essen, Schreiben;
- Nouns derived from adjectives: Gute, Böse;
- Names of colors: Rot, Gelb, Blau;
The following categories of nouns have mainly the article das:
- Almost all of the 112 known chemical elements: Aluminium, Kupfer, Uran; 6 exceptions: der Kohlenstoff, der Sauerstoff, der Stickstoff, der Wasserstoff, der Phosphor, der Schwefel;
- Names of metals: Blei, Messing, Zinn; exceptions: die Bronze, der Stahl;
- Fractions: Drittel (⅓), Viertel (¼); exception: die Hälfte (½);
Furthermore, nouns with the suffixes below have the article das:
- –ial: Material, Potenzial;
Most of nouns with the following suffixes have the article das:
- –ment: Instrument, Parlament; exceptions: der Konsument, der Zement;
- –nis: Ergebnis, Tennis; exceptions: die Fahrerlaubnis, die Wildnis;
- –o: Auto, Konto; exceptions: die Avocado, der Euro;
- –tum: Quantum, Ultimatum; exceptions: der Reichtum, der Irrtum;
- –um (nouns of Latin origin): Publikum, Museum, Stadium;
Beware: this is applicable only to nouns in singular. All nouns in plural have the article die.

German Definite Articles by Gender (Nominative Case)
German Definite Article (English meaning)	Gender (Abbreviation Seen in Dictionaries)	German Example (English meaning)
der (the)	masculine (m)	der Löffel (the spoon)
die (the)	feminine (f)	die Gabel (the fork)
das (the)	neuter (n or nt)	das Messer (the knife)
die (the)	plural (pl)	die Menschen (the people)

Some categories of nouns are consistently masculine, feminine, or neuter. For instance, noun gender usually follows the gender of people: der Onkel (the uncle) and die Schwester (the sister). In many other cases, the noun categories have to do with the ending of the noun. The following two tables provide some fairly reliable categories of nouns and their genders.

Common Genders by Noun Ending (Or Beginning)
Usually Masculine (der)	Usually Feminine (die)	Usually Neuter (das)
-er (especially when referring to male people/jobs)	-ade, -age, -anz, -enz, -ette, -ine, -ion, -tur (if foreign/borrowed from another language)	-chen
-ich	-e	-ium
-ismus	-ei	-lein
-ist	-heit	-ment (if foreign/borrowed from another language)
-ner	-ie	-o
	-ik	-tum or -um
	-in (when referring to female people/occupations)	Ge-
	-keit
	-schaft
	-tät
	-ung

Common Genders by Noun Subject
Usually Masculine (der)	Usually Feminine (die)	Usually Neuter (das)
Days, months, and seasons: der Freitag(Friday)	Many flowers: die Rose (the rose)	Colors (adjectives) used as nouns: grün (green) das Grün (the green)
Map locations: der Süd(en) (the south)	Many trees: die Buche (the beech)	Geographic place names: das Europa(Europe)
Names of cars and trains: der Audi (the Audi) and der ICE(the Intercity Express)	Names of aircraft and ships: die Boeing 767 (the Boeing 767), die Titanic (the Titanic)	Infinitives used as nouns (gerunds): schwimmen(to swim) das Schwimmen(swimming)
Nationalities and words showing citizenship: der Amerikaner (the American)	Cardinal numbers:eine Drei (a three)	Young people and animals: das Baby (the baby)
Occupations: der Arzt(the doctor)		Almost all the chemical elements and most metals: das Aluminium(aluminum) and das Blei(lead)
Names of most mountains and lakes:der Großglockner(the highest mountain in Austria)
Most rivers outside of Europe: der Amazonas (the Amazon)

Bestimmter Artikel I (Nominativ & Akkusativ) Singular

	Nominativ	Akkusativ
MASKULIN	der (Tisch)	den (Tisch)
FEMININ	die (Schule)	die (Schule)
NEUTRUM	das (Kleid)	das (Kleid)

Plural

	Nominativ	Akkusativ
MASKULIN	die (Tische)	die (Tische)
FEMININ	die (Schulen)	die (Schulen)
NEUTRUM	die (Kleider)	die (Kleider)

Unbestimmter Artikel I (Nominativ & Akkusativ Singular

	Nominativ	Akkusativ
MASKULIN	ein (Tisch)	einen (Tisch)
FEMININ	eine (Schule)	eine (Schule)
NEUTRUM	ein (Kleid)	ein (Kleid)

Plural

	Nominativ	Akkusativ
MASKULIN	– (Tische)	– (Tische)
FEMININ	– (Schulen)	– (Schulen)
NEUTRUM	– (Kleider)	– (Kleider)

German Definite Articles

The definite articles in German refer to specific persons, objects, ideas…etc. and they are : der, die, das, die (plural) they all mean the expression “the” in English, der is used for masculine nouns, die is used for feminine nouns, das is used for neuter nouns, and finally die used also for plural nouns.

German Definite Article
Masculine	der Mann (the man)
Feminine	die Frau (the woman)
Neuter	das Brot (the bread)
Plural	die Männer (the men), die Frauen (the women), die Brote (the breads)

Well, that’s not all; the form we went through above is only for the nominative case. Now let’s have a look at all the rest:

German Definite Articles
	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
Nominative case	der	die	das	die	the
Accusative case	den	die	das	die	the
Dative case	dem	der	dem	den	to the
Genitive cases	des	der	des	der	of the

Here are some examples: Nominative: der Mann ist hier (the man is here) Accusative: Ich grüße den Mann (I greet the man) Dative: Ich gebe dem Mann ein Buch (I give the book to the man) Genitive: Ich habe das Buch des Mannes (I have the book of the man) You may have noticed how the definite article changes each time the case changes. So try to memorize the table above by heart, I’m sure it’s not that hard.]]>

Italian Classroom: Articles

Classroom - Italian / By Vaikundamoni

Italian Grammar Lessons: Definite and Indefinite articles

Basic articles:

Masculine singular: il
Masculine plural: i
Feminine singular: la
Feminine plural: le

Articles can be definite or indefinite, it depends if they refer to a known object or not and they can help you identify the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the nouns they refer to, as they change depending on that. DEFINITE ARTICLES Use articles il (singular) and i (plural) for masculine nouns that start with a consonant. Examples: il libro / i libri (the book / the books) il gatto / i gatti (the cat / the cats) Words that begin with x, y, z and with the groups gn, pn, ps, s + consonant need the articles lo (singular) and gli (plural) Examples: lo zio / gli zii (the uncle / the uncles) lo gnomo / gli gnomi (the dwarf / the dwarfs) lo psicologo / gli psicologi (the psychologist / the psychologists) lo specchio, lo studente, gli spaghetti For feminine nouns, use la (singular) and le (plural) for all the nouns (without distinction with regard to the first letters.) Examples: la matita / le matite (the pencil / the pencils) la casa / le case (the house / the houses) For both the masculine and feminine gender, you need to be careful with singular nouns which start with a vowel, as the article is elided and written with an apostrophe: lo/la → l’ Examples: masculine nouns: l’ errore / gli errori (the mistake / the mistakes) feminie nouns: l’ aula / le aule (the classroom / the classrooms)

INDEFINITE ARTICLES Unlike with definite articles, the indefinite article is only used with singular nouns and so only changes according to the gender. The article un is used with masculine nouns starting with a vowel or a consonant Examples: un aereo (an airplane) un treno (a train) However, with words starting with x, y, z and the groups gn, pn, ps, sc you have to use the articleuno. Examples: uno zaino (a backpack) uno scoiattolo (a squirrel) The article una is used for feminine singular nouns starting with a consonant. Examples: una palla (a ball) una scena (a scene) As before, the indefinite feminine form also needs to be elided when followed by a word starting with a vowel: una → un’ Examples: un’ isola (an island) un’ automobile (a car)

In Italian, the definite article must always be used before the name of a language, except when the verbs parlare (to speak) or studiare (to study) directly precede the name of the language; in those cases, the use of the article is optional. Studio l’italiano. (I study Italian.) Parlo italiano. (I speak Italian.) Parlo bene l’italiano. (I speak Italian well.) The definite article is used before the days of the week to indicate a repeated, habitual activity. Domenica studio. (I’m studying on Sunday.) Marco non studia mai la domenica. (Marco never studies on Sundays.) ]]>

Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives in Italian

Classroom - Italian / By Vaikundamoni

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES IN ITALIAN Possessive pronouns and adjectives are used in both English and Italian to indicate the ownership of a noun. Possessive pronouns express a relation between a noun and who possesses it, and are used alone, in the place of the noun. The six possessive pronouns in Italian all refer to a person/people. Possessive adjectives in Italian correspond to the English words “my,” “your,” “its,” “his,” “her,” “their” and “our.” Both possessive pronouns and adjectives and generally used in compound forms with the pronoun or adjective coming after a definite article that is not translated in English (ie: “il mio” = “my”). It is important to remember that both possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives must agree in both number and gender to the noun not with the possessor. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES IN ITALIAN Possessive pronouns and adjectives are used in both English and Italian to indicate the ownership of a noun. Possessive pronouns express a relation between a noun and who possesses it, and are used alone, in the place of the noun. The six possessive pronouns in Italian all refer to a person/people. Possessive adjectives in Italian correspond to the English words “my,” “your,” “its,” “his,” “her,” “their” and “our.” Both possessive pronouns and adjectives and generally used in compound forms with the pronoun or adjective coming after a definite article that is not translated in English (ie: “il mio” = “my”). It is important to remember that both possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives must agree in both number and gender to the noun not with the possessor. THE SIX POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS Mio = mine Tuo = yours Suo = theirs Nostro = ours Vostro = yours (polite) Loro = theirs (plural, third person) Example: “La scarpa di Vanessa è molto grande, la mia è più piccola.” = “Vanessa’s shoe is very big, mine is smaller.” You will notice that “la mia” replaces “la scarpa,” denoting that the shoe belongs to me. It is important to remember that in Italian, unlike English, the gender of the possessive pronoun corresponds to the subject/noun not the possessor. For example, when saying “Today is your birthday” you would say “Oggi è il tuo compleanno.” Compleanno is masculine singular so “il tuo” is used regardless of whether the person celebrating the birthday is male or female. EXAMPLES OF POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES My = il mio, la mia, i miei, le mie (masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, feminine plural) Your (familiar) = il tuo, la tua, i tuoi, le tue Your (polite) = il suo, la sua, i suoi, le sue His, Her’s, Its = il suo, la sua, i suoi (masculine plural), le sue (feminine plural) Our = il nosto, la nostra, i nostri, le nostre Your (familiar) = il vostro, la vostra, i vostri, le vostre Your (polite) = il loro, la loro, i loro, le loro Their = il loro, la loro, i loro, le loro Example: “I miei cugini” = “My cousins” also “La loro casa” = “Their house.” Note that in the last example we use the third person feminine singular (la loro) based on the fact that the noun (“casa”) is both feminine and singular (ie: we are only speaking of one house). The choice of adjective does not depend on whether the group that owns the house is male or female. One exception to the rule of using an article before the adjective is when the noun is a specific family relative. For example, if you are trying to say “My sister is blonde” you would say, “Mia sorella è bionda” not “La mia sorella è bionda.” DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES Some examples to help clarify the difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives: La tua casa è sfarzosa, la mia è modesta = Your house is opulent, mine is modest. (pronoun = la mia) La mia casa è modesta = My house is modest. (adjective = la mia) Tua sorella è bionda, la mia è mora = Your sister is blonde, mine is a brunette. (pronoun = la mia) Mia sorella è alta = My sister is tall. (adjective = la mia) Lei vorrebbe una macchina tutta sua = She would like a car all her own (pronoun = sua) So, adjectives are possessive when they are paired with a noun (ie: la MIA casa; la TUA bicicletta, il MIO gatto, la VOSTRA penna = my house, your bike, my cat, your pen), while pronouns are possessive, even when the noun does not appear, because the pronoun can substitute it (ie: La macchina di Paola è blu, la mia invece è bianca = Paola’s car is blue, mine is white.) Also, in Italian we place ALWAYS the article before the pronoun. ]]>

ITALIAN GRAMMAR: Nouns and Genders

Classroom - Italian, Learn Italian / By Vaikundamoni

ITALIAN NOUNS AND GENDERS Most Italian nouns end in a vowel—those that end in a consonant are of foreign origin—and all nouns have a gender, even those that refer to a qualities, ideas, and things. Usually, Italian singular masculine nouns end in –o, while feminine nouns end in –a(-tà).

» Masculine	» Feminine
Tavolo (table)	Casa (house)
Sviluppo (development)	Rosa (rouse)
Organismo (organism)	Città (city)

There are exceptions for this rule, of course (see table below):

» Masculine	» Feminine
Giornale (newspaper)	F rase (sentence)
Pane (bread)	Canzone (song)
Nome (name)	Notte (night)

Gender Inflections for Nouns:

Feminine is often obtained from masculine by the alternation -o : -a in the endings

» Masculine	» Feminine
Amico friend	Amica friend
Bambino little boy	Bambina little girl
Cugino cousin (he)	Cugina cousin (she)
Figlio son	Figlia daughter
Maestro master, teacher	Maestra teacher (female)

The alteration -e : -a also occurs, cf.:

» Masculine	» Feminine
Signore mister	Signora mistress
Padrone master, owner	Padrona mistress of the house

Sometimes masculine and feminine are derived from different (or modified) roots:

» Masculine	» Feminine
frate friar	soura nun
fratello brother	sorella sister
padre father	madre mother
uomo man	donna woman
paperone drake	oca duck

These are nouns with one form for both genders. Here are included all the nouns suffixed by -ista. Examples:
- Artista » artist
- Giornalista » journalist
- Pianista » pianist
- Turista » tourist etc

Some other nouns, like:

» camerata comrade	» consorte consort
» compatriota compatriot	» amante lover
» eresiarca heresiarch	» cliente client
» idiota idiot	» commerciante trader
» omicida murderer	» interprete interpreter

]]>

Italian Grammar: Prepositions

Classroom - Italian / By Vaikundamoni

ITALIAN PREPOSITIONS Prepositions are short words which express conditions, directions, specifications, such as of, over, to, from, etc. Prepositions are those little words that mark places in space or time. When prepositions are used together with definite articles, the preposition and the article are sometimes condensed into a single word. When they are not followed (and bound) to articles, they are called “simple prepositions”. Simple prepositions: They are words that aren’t followed by articles. Simple prepositions are:

di (d’) » of	a » to	da » from, by, since
in » in	con » with	tra, fra » between
su » on	per » for

Di: “Di” means “of”, indicating possession, or “from” (to be from). Examples:

un bicchiere di vino » a glass of wine
la città di Roma » the city of Rome
il libro di Paolo » Paul’s book (literally: “the book of Paul”)
la madre di Roberto » Robert’s mother
io sono di Roma » I am from Rome
i due ragazzi sono di Berlino » the two boys are from Berlin

A: “A” means “to” (indirect object and movement) or “in”, indicating location (cities and places). When preposition “a” is followed by another word starting with a vowel, for mere phonetic reasons it changes to “ad”. Examples:

regalo il libro a Stefania » I give the book to Stephanie
venderò la bicicletta a Carlo » I shall sell the bycicle to Charles
a destra » to the right (note how in Italian the two directions have no article)
tornerò ad Amburgo » I shall return to Hamburg
siamo a letto » we are in bed
tu vivi a Roma » you live in Rome

Da: “Da” means “since”, “from” (to come from), “by” (passive) and it’s used with location referring to people. Examples:

Vivo a Foggia da 16 anni » I’ve lived in Foggia for 16 years
Vengo da Foggia » I come from Foggia
Questo corso è stato fatto da Davide » This course was made by Davide
Sono da Davide » I’m at Davide’s

In: “In” usually means “in”. Examples:

Vivo in una bella città » I live in a beautiful city.
ho dieci monete in tasca » I have ten coins in my pocket
traverseremo il fiume in barca » we will cross the river by boat

Con: “Con” means “with”. Examples:

Sono con te » I’m with you
ho comprato il libro con pochi soldi » I bought the book with little money
il bambino era con un adulto » the child was with an adult

Su: “Su” means “on(to)”, “over”. Examples:

I libri sono su un banco » The books are on a desk.
l’aereo vola su Firenze » The plane flies over Florence

Per: “Per” It can translate English for, to, by, or even as, according to the different use. Examples:

Questo regalo è per te » This present is for Davide
Ho un biglietto per il teatro » I have a ticket for the theatre
Il pacco è per la signora » the parcel is for the lady

Tra-fra: “Tra” and “fra” mean “between” or “in” followed by a time expression. Examples:

Sono tra(fra) il tavolo e la sedia » I’m between the table and the chair
Vengo a casa tra(fra) due minuti » I’d come home in two minutes
l’autobus passerà fra(tra) due ore » the bus will pass in two hours time
l’albero fra(tra) le due case è alto » the tree between the two houses is tall

]]>

French Conjugation

Learn French / By Vaikundamoni

How to Conjugate Regular French Verbs To simplify things, French has classified regular verbs into three types, based on the ending of their infinitives. Think of all the things you can possibly do in one day. That’s also a lot of verbs to conjugate.

The largest group is the verbs whose infinitive ends in -er (the -erverbs), like parler (to speak).
The second largest group is made up of the verbs whose infinitive ends in-ir(the -ir verbs), like finir (to finish).
The third group consists of the -reending verbs (the -re verbs), likevendre (to sell).

Each type follows a pattern of conjugation for every tense. Think of the infinitive as the family name of a verb: A family shares a common last name, but each individual has his or her own characteristics, right. Use the infinitive to recognize the verb type (-er, -ir, or -re) that allows you to find its conjugation pattern and also look up the verb in the dictionary.

How to conjugate a regular -er verb More than 80 percent of French verbs are -er verbs. It’s great for you, because after you know their pattern of conjugation in the present tense, you can pretty much conjugate 80 percent of French verbs. Doesn’t that sound great? To conjugate a regular -er verb, drop the -er of the infinitive to get the stem. Then add the six present tense endings specific to -erverbs: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent, and you’re done. Easy! The following table conjugates a regular -er verb: aimer (to like).

j’aime	nous aimons
tu aimes	vous aimez
il/elle/on aime	ils/elles aiment

Aller (to go) is a very common verb, and it looks like a regular -er verb. However, it is not. Aller is a very irregular verb. How to conjugate a regular -ir verb The -ir verb group is the second most common verb type. To form the present tense of a regular -ir verb, drop the -ir of the infinitive to get the stem for the present tense conjugation. Then add the present tense endings specific to -ir verbs: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. The following table conjugates a regular -ir verb: finir (to finish).

je finis	nous finissons
tu finis	vous finissez
il/elle/on finit	ils/elles finissent

Not all -ir verbs follow this pattern. So just use a little more caution when dealing with -ir ending verbs.

How to conjugate a regular -re verb Verbs that end in -re are the third conjugation type. To form the present tense of an -re verb, drop the -re of the infinitive, like you do for -er and -ir verbs. When you do that, you’re left with the stem for the conjugation of the present tense, and you can add the present tense endings specific to -re verbs: -s, -s,nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent.The following table conjugates a regular -re verb: vendre (to sell).

je vends	nous vendons
tu vends	vous vendez
il/elle/on vend	ils/elles vendent

Conjugation of Être, Avoir, Aller, and Faire verbs:

How to Conjugate the Irregular French Verbs Être, Avoir, Aller, and Faire ? In French and in English, the verbs être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), and faire (to do) are probably the most used verbs of our repertoire, which is also why they have become so twisted. The four tables that follow give you the present tense conjugations of these verbs. Être Verb:

Avoir Verb:

For pronounciation, be very careful with ils sont (they are) and ils ont (they have), because they have pretty similar sounds. The difference is between the soft sound of ils sont and the z sound created by the liaison (the verbal link between the final -s and the following vowel) in ils ont. Aller Verb:

Faire Verb:

]]>

Useful Words in French

Learn French / By Vaikundamoni

Useful Words in French / Les mots utiles

It’s / That’s	c’est	/sɛ/	There is/are	il y a	/il i a/
There is/are	voilà	/vwala/	Here is/are	voici	/vwasi/
and	et	/e/	always	toujours	/tuʒuʀ/
but	mais	/mɛ/	often	souvent	/suvɑ̃/
now	maintenant	/mɛ̃tnɑ̃/	sometimes	quelquefois	/kɛlkəfwa/
especially	surtout	/syʀtu/	usually	d’habitude	/dabityd/
except	sauf	/sof/	also, too	aussi	/osi/
of course	bien sûr	/bjɛ̃ syʀ/	again	encore	/ɑ̃kɔʀ/
so so	comme ci, comme ça	/kɔm si, kɔm sa/	late	en retard	/ɑ̃ʀətaʀ/
not bad	pas mal	/pa mal/	almost	presque	/pʀɛsk/
book	le livre	/lə livʀ/	friend (fem)	une amie	/y nami/
pencil	le crayon	/lə kʀɛjɔ̃/	friend (masc)	un ami	/œ̃ nami/
pen	le stylo	/lə stilo/	woman	une femme	/yn fam/
paper	le papier	/lə papje/	man	un homme	/œ̃ nɔm/
dog	le chien	/lə ʃjɛ̃/	girl	une fille	/yn fij/
cat	le chat	/lə ʃa/	boy	un garçon	/œ̃̃ gaʀsɔ̃/
money	l’argent (m)	/laʀʒɑ̃/	job / work	le travail	/lə tʀavaj/

The expression il y a is reduced to y a in everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number, it means ago. Il y a cinq minutes means five minutes ago. Some common slang words for money include: le fric, le pèze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot. To express in a certain month, such as in May, use en before the month as in “en mai.” With dates, the ordinal numbers are not used, except for the first of the month: le premier mai but le deux juin. Also note that months are all masculine and not capitalized in French (same as days of the week).]]>

German Grammar: Conjugation

Classroom - German, Learn German / By Vaikundamoni

The Customized Super Intensive German Language Courses have all the features of the professional language courses.

Personalpronomen I (Nominativ)

	Singular	Plural
1. PERSON	ich	wir
2. PERSON	du Sie (Höflichkeitsform)	ihr Sie (Höflichkeitsform)
3. PERSON	er (maskulin) sie (feminin) es (neutrum)	sie

Konjugation Präsens I

	Singular	Plural
1. PERSON	ich geh-e	wir geh-en
2. PERSON	du geh-st Sie geh-en	ihr geh-t Sie geh-en
3. PERSON	er geh-t sie geh-t es geh-t	sie geh-en

Konjugation Präsens II (sein)

	Singular	Plural
1. PERSON	ich bin	wir sind
2. PERSON	du bist Sie sind	ihr seid Sie sind
3. PERSON	er ist sie ist es ist	sie sind Konjugation Präsens III (haben)

	Singular	Plural
1. PERSON	ich habe	wir haben
2. PERSON	du hast Sie haben	ihr habt Sie haben
3. PERSON	er hat sie hat es hat	sie haben

Conjugation:To be verb, to have, to become

sein – to be (zine)

I am	ich bin	ikh bin	I was	ich war	ikh var
you are (familiar)	du bist	doo bihst	you were (familiar)	du warst	doo varst
he/she/it is	er/sie/es ist	air/zee/ess isst	he/she/it was	er/sie/es war	air/zee/es var
we are	wir sind	veer zint	we were	wir waren	veer vah-ren
you (plural) are	ihr seid	eer zide	you (plural) were	ihr wart	eer vart
they/you (formal) are	sie/Sie sind	zee zint	they/you (formal) were	sie/Sie waren	zee vah-ren

haben – to have (hah-ben

I have	ich habe	hah-buh	I had	ich hatte	hah-tuh
you have	du hast	hahst	you had	du hattest	hah-test
he/she/it has	er/sie/es hat	haht	he/she/it had	er/sie/es hatte	hah-tuh
we have	wir haben	hah-ben	we had	wir hatten	hah-ten
you have	ihr habt	hahbt	you had	ihr hattet	hah-tet
they/you have	sie/Sie haben	hah-ben	they/you had	sie/Sie hatten	hah-ten

werden – to become (vair-den)

I become	ich werde	vair-duh	I became	ich wurde	voor-duh
you become	du wirst	veerst	you became	du wurdest	voor-dest
he/she/it becomes	er/sie/es wird	veert	he/she/it became	er/sie/es wurde	voor-duh
we become	wir werden	vair-den	we became	wir wurden	voor-den
you become	ihr werdet	vair-det	you became	ihr wurdet	voor-det
they/you become	sie/Sie werden	vair-den	they/you became	sie/Sie wurden	voor-den

Haben is frequently used in expressions that would normally take to be in English. Ich habe Hunger. = I am hungry. Ich hatte Durst. = I was thirsty. Ich habe Langeweile. = I am bored. Ich hatte Heimweh. = I was homesick. Ich habe Angst. = I am afraid. In everyday speech, the final -e on the ich conjugations can be dropped: ich hab’ or hab’ ich The verb werden is also used in the future tense to mean will.]]>

Conversational French

Learn French / By Vaikundamoni

A conversation in French

Karen:	Salut! Comment ça va ? Hi! How are you?
Jacques:	Bonjour! Ça va bien, merci. Et vous ? Hello! I’m well, thank you. And you?
Karen:	Très bien. J’attends un professeur français. Very well. I am waiting for a French teacher.
Jacques:	Je suis un professeur de français. Je m’appelle Jacques. Comment vous appelez-vous ? I am a French teacher. My name is Jacques. What is your name?
Karen:	Je m’appelle Karen. My name is Karen.
Jacques:	Vous venez d’Angleterre ? Are you from England?
Karen:	Oui, je suis Anglaise. Yes, I am English.
Jacques:	Que faites-vous dans la vie ? What work do you do?
Karen:	Je suis touriste. I’m a tourist.
Jacques:	Oh, quel plaisir! Êtes-vous mariée ? Oh, what fun! Are you married?
Karen:	Non. Je suis célibataire. Et vous ? No. I’m single. And you?
Jacques:	Je suis marié et j’ai deux enfants. I am married and I have two children.
Karen:	C’est bien. That’s good.
Jacques:	Quel âge avez-vous ? How old are you?
Karen:	J’ai vingt-quatre ans. I am twenty-four years old.
Jacques:	Vous parlez bien le français. You speak French well.
Karen:	Non, je parle français un peu. No, I only speak French a little.
Jacques:	Je vous aiderai. À demain ? I will help you. Till tomorrow?
Karen:	Oui, très bien. À bientôt ! Yes, very good. See you later!
Jacques:	Bonne nuit ! Good night!

FRENCH LESSON – BASIC FRENCH WORDS / PHRASES Useful everyday words and phrases in French

Yes	Oui. (WEE)
No	Non. (NOHNG)
Please	S’il vous plaît. (seell voo PLEH)
Thank you	Merci. (mehr-SEE)
You’re welcome	De rien. (duh RYANG)
Excuse me (getting attention)	S’il vous plaît (seell voo PLEH)
Excuse me (you’re in my way)	Pardon. (pahr-DOHNG)
Excuse me (begging pardon)	Excusez-moi. (ehks-kuu-zay MWAH)
I’m sorry	Désolé(e). (day-zoh-LAY)
I don’t understand	Je ne comprends pas. (ZHUH nuh kohm-PRAHNG pah)
I can’t speak French [well].	Je ne parle pas [bien] français. (zhuh nuh PAHRL pah [byahng] frahng-SEH)
Do you speak English?	Parlez-vous anglais? (PAHR-lay VOOZ ahng-LEH?)
Is there someone here who speaks English?	Est-ce qu’il y a quelqu’un ici qui parle anglais? (ess keel-ee-AH kel-KUHNG ee-SEE kee PAHRL ahng-LEH?)
Where’s the toilet?	Où sont les toilettes ? (OOH sohng lay twa-LEHT?)
Help!	Au secours ! (os-KOOR!)
Look out!	Attention! (ah-TAHNG-see-ohng)

Saying hello in French and other common phrases

Hello	Bonjour. (bohng-ZHOOR)
Hello (informal / to friends)	Salut. (sah-LUU)
Good morning	Bonjour. (bohng-ZHOOR)
Good evening	Bonsoir. (bohng SWAHR)
How are you?	Comment allez-vous? (kuh-mahng tah-lay VOO?)
Fine thank you.	Bien, merci. (byahng, mehr-SEE)
What is your name?	Comment vous appelez-vous? (kuh-MAWNG vooz ah-puhll-ay VOO?)
My name is…	Je m’appelle ….. (zhuh mah-PEHLL……)
Nice to meet you	Enchanté(e). (ahng-chahng-TAY
Goodbye	Au revoir. (oh RVWAHR)
Goodbye (informal / to friends)	Salut. (sah-LUU) (yes, the same word as hello!)
Good night (to sleep)	Bonne nuit. (buhn NWEE)

]]>

Author name: Vaikundamoni

Portuguese Verb Conjugations

German Classes: Articles

German Articles

Introduction

Rules for Article ‘Die’

German Definite Articles

Italian Classroom: Articles

Italian Grammar Lessons: Definite and Indefinite articles

Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives in Italian

ITALIAN GRAMMAR: Nouns and Genders

Italian Grammar: Prepositions

French Conjugation

Conjugation of Être, Avoir, Aller, and Faire verbs:

Useful Words in French

Useful Words in French / Les mots utiles

German Grammar: Conjugation

The Customized Super Intensive German Language Courses have all the features of the professional language courses.

Conjugation:To be verb, to have, to become

Conversational French